A copy of Marvel Comics’ Tales of Suspense #39 – which includes the origin and first appearance of Iron Man – is up for auction at PWCC Marketplace.

In March of 1963, Marvel released their Tales of Suspense #39 which introduced audiences to Anthony “Tony” Stark, a rich, industrialist weapons manufacturer. The character’s inception was spurred by a self-imposed dare made by the legendary Stan Lee: could the legendary Lee make readers fall in love with a character nobody was supposed to like? And thus began the story of one of Marvel’s most beloved and successful characters to date: Iron Man.

This 39th issue also became one of Marvel’s most influential comics from that era.  This issue was written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber with art from Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Steve Ditko, and Gener Colan.

CGC graded this off-white to white paged copy an 8.5, indicating Very Fine+ condition. The grade places this copy among the top five percent of all Tales of Suspense #39 issues assessed by the third-party grader.

“It can’t be overstated how difficult it is to find a copy of this comic in such a high grade,” said Zachary Kirkpatrick, Manager of Comics at PWCC Marketplace. “This copy has incredible centering, which is by far the hardest quality to find in these issues. Even in other high-grade copies, the quotation marks around “Iron Man” are often cut off. This book is a crown jewel for any Silver Age comic collector.”

This copy closes for bidding in PWCC’s February Premier Auction on Feb. 16. The high bid currently sits at $36,000.